Heat (UK)

Very Good Film, but no extras to speak of

A great movie. But the picture is not sharp and sometimes even grainy in dark scenes. The layer change is in the middle of a scene which is also a bit annoying. Sound is good. There are no extras on the disc at all.

The only thing worth buying this disc for is the movie itself, which is pretty good indeed!

Basically this is one of the best films of the decade......or even all time.....
The film is ultra stylish, and Mann uses american architecture to fantastic effect......
I reckon the main benefit DVD has to Heat, for me (i don`t have suround sound or anything...yet, but the gun fights are still vibrously real) are the visual upgrades.....the visuals look soooo nice, laser like and metallic, crisp, clean and sweet as hell.....this film is good enough not to need extras i reckon.

Heat is a superb film. Both Pacino and De Niro give fantastic performances as the two diametrically opposed leads, and they are ably backed by a fine supporting cast. The quality of the films action set pieces is excellent, the bank heist in the middle of the film is a prime example of this.

The 5.1 sound is fantastic, especially in the aforementioned heist scene, bullets whistle past your ears and ricochet all over the place.

Video, too, is impressive. The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is very good on the whole, although there are some noticeable scratches on the print, which can be a bit distracting from time to time.

The disc, as with most Warner back catalogue titles, is featureless. Not even a measly trailer, which is disappointing state of affairs. It doesn`t detract from the greatness of the film though, and that should be most people’s reason for buying the disc.

Overall, a featureless disc, containing a stunning film with above average video and audio. You can pick this up from as little as £12, so there`s no excuse not to treat yourself to this masterpiece.

Good print, though grainy in places, some digital noise apparent, but overall quite good. As with most Warner DVD`s the extra features are stripped down to the bare minimum.

Mann`s "Heat" is simply stunning. The acting is excellent, the cinematography inspired (Spinotti on form as usual), the music sublime (especially Moby`s "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters") and the storyline compelling.

Mann creates a tangiable atmopshere of alienation by creating an intricate plot where personal ordeal is contrasted against a backdrop of an austere, postmodern American city, creating a mood that is both cold and profoundly beautiful.

This mood is dipersed by scenes of action that are sure testaments to Mann`s directing credentials- just the failed hesit scene in the middle of the film at the very least equals anything Cameron, Bay or Woo has thrown at us.

I cannot think of any crime flick over the past decade that compares to "Heat". In fact, there are few films whether of the same genre or not, that America has produced within the last twenty or so years that could be compared to it.

Taking into account "Manhunter" and "The Insider", Mann must surely be credited as one of the most intelligent film makers in contemporary cinema.

Content

A very good film with top class acting all round and some great action scenes

Video

A good solid transfer

Audio

Good quality especially on the many gun battles

Features

None

Overall

Lacking in extras but worth buying just for the film

The film is a masterpiece, no doubt about that, but Warner Bros should have made a bit more effort with this film. No trailer, no stills, not even production notes.
Picture quality is good, but looks slightly washed out. The sound is great. Go to chapter 32 for the heist to hear the gun battle the way it`s meant to be.

This film is Astounding. I watched it purely by chance when it was screened on satellite late one night and after the first 5-10 mins I was totally captivated by this movie, the characters are just so believable, the setpieces are fantastic and the acting is just out of this world. Easily the best film of it`s type EVER, no question. you really do `feel` part of this film such is it`s quality. One thing I have noticed is that Pacino and Deniro never actually appear together, you see back of the head shots whenever they`re together, didn`t they like each other or something? Fantastic film, Everybody should watch this and then they`d understand should how films should be made.

"Heat" was hailed as an instant classic when it was released, and there`s no doubt it`s a great, grown-up popcorn movie built around two great action set-pieces. If it was a novel it would be one of those holiday doorstops with the author`s surname bigger than the title. It`s a rattling soap opera, a big-budget, no-fat TV miniseries cut into one episode. There`s some neat sleight-of-hand using the lead actors` screen presence to redirect your attention from the cardboard characters they play.

Audio/Video

It would be churlish to try to fault this. A movie released just at the beginning of the DVD mass-market revolution, with a quality transfer and none of the blips that dog back-catalogue releases.

Extras

With a transfer you can`t fault and a running time well over 2 hours, there`s already a lot of movie here. If you want commentary and extra scenes, hold out for the SE. If you want a bargain, haunt the sales for its regular re-appearance under a tenner.

And finally ...

I have a soft spot for this film, from it`s Miami Vice heritage to the above-the-title stars. It`s slick and it has those two great set-pieces. It was praised to the heavens on first release, and I rushed to the cinema to see it, but I`ve never been as happy with it as I think I should. It`s a bit two-dimensional and it never really escapes from its small screen roots. (Did you know that it`s a mega-budget remake of Michael Mann`s TV movie "L.A. Takedown"? I thought so). There`s an unecessary serial killer sub-plot, presumably intended to add depth to Pacino`s character and tie-in ironically to one of the others, but this is Alanis Morisette "ironic" so it doesn`t quite come together. There are too many soap-opera elements, from the Pacino character`s failing marriage and the sub-plot revolving around the seldom over-rated Val Kilmer, to the perfunctory black character. (They should have just handed him a phaser and a red sweatshirt.) And like the drunk, single guy at the end of a party, it just doesn`t know when to leave. I always enjoy the first half of "Heat", but the final confrontation between Pacino and de Niro just drags and drags. I wouldn`t have paid full price for the DVD, but as a bargain bin knock-down it won a place on the shelf.

I hate to condone the making of 3-hour long movies, but Heat is one in which you`re not going to fall asleep. Heat manages to keep the interest level high throughout the whole picture.
The action builds up for a solid two hours until a nearly catastrophic "final" bank robbery results in one of the most vivid shoot-outs ever filmed. Writer/director Michael Mann (best known for his work on Miami Vice) paces the movie well, and he really puts the audience through the ringer by getting the adrenaline pumping like an oil well.

But why is this film 3 hours long, you ask? The answer lies in Mann`s multidimensional examinations of all the major characters, their wives, their children, and any other love interests who happen along. Thus over the course of the picture, we discover Hanna is in his third marriage and his wife`s ex-husband is a deadbeat. We learn at length about McCauley`s personal code: to have nothing in his life he can`t walk away from in 30 seconds flat if "the heat" is coming. And when the heat does come, we see how it affects everyone...in depth. While these relationship subplots are mildly interesting, they seem completely out of place in the movie and, in the end, weigh the film down.

Altogether, the cast lends a lot of credibility to what would otherwise be another run-of-the-mill crime movie. And while the sometimes hard-to-follow script often demands too much of the viewer, this film is one that`s truly worth seeing.

Great film, good transfer and cracking sound… shame about the extras, but I guess you can't have everything! Some of Mann's best films - as good as they are - don't seem to do too well on the old extras front (think Last of the Mohicans, The Insider and of course, Heat) whereas Ali gets a 2 disc set… something's gone amiss there! There's not even a trailer here!

A bargain at £5.99 from www.choicesdirect.co.uk at the moment.

I own this movie on DVD. I think it`s great, must have seen it at least 10 times, and still my favourite scene is the one where Pacino and DeNiro meet for the first time, that`s what I call great acting!

The visuals and sound are absolutely fantastic especially on DVD.

Feature:

Heat is one of the best crime movies ever made and i will argue with people who think other wise. Every Cast member involved gives outstanding performances Al Pacino and Robert De Nero being the best out of every one, the coffee shop scene in which every one raves about is a cracking piece of acting from the pair and a cracking piece of film making from director Michael Mann. Another great part to the film is the bank robbery in which a highly realistic shoot-out takes place. Overall Heat is fantastic!

Sound:

brilliant, the dolby digital 5.1 is used so well in the film, turn it up loud for the robbery as the gun fire rips through your surround sound!

Picture:

Again, amazing

Extras:

nothing, which is such a shame, no commentary, no nothing.Warner Bros have sinned and it`s not the first time (Blade Runner). It`s stupid that a film like this, with great picture and sound has nothing else to appeal to us with, Warner Bros you are crap! get a special edition out soon!

Don`t bother wth this bare bones version unless you`re looking for a bargain(which it isn`t). Get the 2 disc SE which features a commentary from the director and 5 featurettes. They both cost £19.99 RRP each but one has more extras than the other one!

Only an idiot would buy the bare bones version only to realise that he/she finds out there`s a better version.

BOO HISS to the bare bones version.